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Keeping his head above the clouds
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03/14/2014
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When he isn\uc1\u8217?t teaching chemistry to his students at Dordt
College, Dr. Channon Visscher is trying to help figure out what the
weather is like on other planets.
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Admittedly, that\uc1\u8217?s an over\_simplified description of Visscher\uc1\u8217?s
chemical research. Under a $55,685 grant from the National Science
\'46oundation, Visscher is creating models to help scientists understand
the chemical makeup of the atmospheres of planets like Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune, as well as the growing numbers of exoplanet images
being recorded by sophisticated computer\_controlled cameras on the
Hubble Telescope. Exoplanets are planets orbiting stars other than
the sun.
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The goal of the research project, titled \uc1\u8220?Collaborative
Research: Characterizing Cloudy Exoplanet Atmospheres,\uc1\u8221?
is to help Visscher and a team of astronomers from the University
of California\_Santa Cruz learn more about other planets, including
those outside of our solar system.
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\uc1\u8220?The chemistry of these atmospheres is influencing what
we can actually see when we look at exoplanets,\uc1\u8221? said Visscher.
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Visscher doesn\uc1\u8217?t fit the classic image of a chemist bent
over a beaker, with a pipette in hand and wearing a white lab coat
and safety glasses. A theoretical modeler, he sits behind his computer
and develops chemical models using a program that simulates cloud
formation. Because clouds can be formed by more than water (they might
be made of ammonia, iron, or other materials), he runs chemical models
to see how clouds form from a variety of substances.
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The models can be petty exotic, but so are some of the cloud formations
scientists are observing. When the models match the observations,
scientists know they are on the right track.
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\uc1\u8220?All of this was theoretical until the 1990s when better
techniques started becoming available to look for and study these
planetary systems,\uc1\u8221? he says. In fact, new and better images
are coming in each day. Visscher points to a January 7 \'46acebook
post by a colleague showing a new image of planets orbiting a big,
hot, and young system.
\par}
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\uc1\u8220?We\uc1\u8217?re finding that as the number of discovered
exoplanets grows, so does their incredible diversity,\uc1\u8221? said
Visscher. \uc1\u8220?We\uc1\u8217?re using chemistry to try to explain
what astronomers are seeing.\uc1\u8221?
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Visscher\uc1\u8217?s field of research is relatively new. The first
confirmed exoplanets were discovered in the early 1990s and most of
what is known about them has been inferred by indirect evidence gained
from tiny wobbles in their orbits or dips in the light when their
host stars pass between them and earth. Visscher\uc1\u8217?s study
will focus on exoplanets that can be directly imaged by large telescopes.
\par}
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Visscher\uc1\u8217?s models and those of other scientists are based
on the assumption that the laws of physics and chemistry behave in
other solar systems as they do in our solar system. That\uc1\u8217?s
not a hard assumption for him to make. While he knows that there are
significant differences within creation, he also believes that the
laws of nature are trustworthy and consistent because they are the
work of a sovereign Creator who holds his creation together.
\par}
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\uc1\u8220?The discovery of exoplanets has been transformational in
helping us understand planetary systems, including our own solar system,\uc1\u8221?
Visscher says, noting that planetary systems are continually forming
and changing.
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\uc1\u8220?As we watch these systems that come in all shapes and sizes,
we find that our solar system is likely not as static as we may have
once thought.\uc1\u8221? He adds, \uc1\u8220?We now know that the
orbits of young planets may shift and things can get violent and chaotic.\uc1\u8221?
\par}
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\uc1\u8220?It\uc1\u8217?s exciting to figure out what\uc1\u8217?s
going on in this vast universe,\uc1\u8221? he says. \uc1\u8220?I find
the amazing scale of creation and how it works to be a powerful witness
to God\uc1\u8217?s creative power and to who he is.\uc1\u8221? He
knows full well that many scientists do not see the world this way
and, in fact, believe that the way the world works disproves God\uc1\u8217?s
existence. He also knows that many young Christians find it difficult
to reconcile science and Scripture.
\par}
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He recalls serving on a panel about origins and having a long conversation
with a scientist who was raised as a Christian but became an atheist
because he felt he had to choose between being a believer and a scientist.
\par}
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\uc1\u8220?It breaks my heart when people accept the false choice
of faith or science,\uc1\u8221? he says, \uc1\u8220?when we know that
God is the author of both Scripture and creation.\uc1\u8221? He believes
both are trustworthy.\~\line
And, he believes it is critical for Christians to talk about these
topics to better understand how to read the physical evidence we see
in creation and how we read Scripture.\uc1\u8220?
\par}
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We all bring along our theological, philosophical, and even scientific
presuppositions with us when we read the Bible, or in anything else
that we do,\uc1\u8221? Visscher says, noting that how people read
Scripture is different after Copernicus than it was before him. He
finds wrestling with these issues to be challenging and exciting and
believes they need to happen on Christian college campuses like Dordt\uc1\u8217?s
where both faith and science are taken seriously.
\par}
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\uc1\u8220?I sometimes tell my students, \uc1\u8216?I\uc1\u8217?m
less interested in what you believe than in how you got there,\uc1\u8217?\uc1\u8221?
he says. He challenges his students to consider this as they read
both Scripture and read creation.
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\uc1\u8220?\'46or me, the Hubble images bring praise to God, they
don\uc1\u8217?t threaten his existence. The vast scale of the universe
is a powerful witness to his greatness. We should not confine that
universe to our understanding of it. This is God\uc1\u8217?s world.
We should never stop exploring it.\uc1\u8221?
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SALLY JONGSMA
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